Final Fantasy XI: Aegis
by LazyNinjaPiggy
Summary: A Story of two adventurers, told in their perspectives. One who is left to take care of an old friends family and Linkshell One who befriends a Wanderer who saved her. But how are they linked? sorry, couldn't think of an appropriate title for this...
1. Chapter 1, Part 1: Guillermo

Anyway! This story will be told from 2 different point-of-views, so there will be 2 parts of every chapter. Iono, what it's called, but it's something that I'm just trying out.

**DISCLAIMER:**I do not own Final Fantasy XI or any other Square-Enix affiliated...stuff. Also, none of these characters are mine.

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_"Grah!" Rolling Thunder growled as he was pushed back. He fell to one knee, using his Ushikirimaru to hold himself up, hissing in pain._

_"There's no point in trying," his opponent said, taunting him. "you'll just end up dead if you over exert yourself."_

_"You…You monster!" Rolling Thunder cried. "How could you do this to your own family!?"_

_His opponent laughed and brushed his coarse hair out of his eyes. "Family? Ha! You people mean nothing to me."_

_Rolling Thunder's rage grew larger and large. He finally mustered up enough strength to stand on his feet. "But why…" He whispered as he readied his Ushikirimaru. "We journeyed across Vana'Diel together," He staggered toward his opponent. "We fought alongside one another," again, he staggered closer. "So why are you doing this!?" He charged with blind rage. He swung his Ushikirimaru down upon his opponent, only to be dodged._

_"Hmph." His opponent smirked. "Why, you ask?" He took his Shinsoku and pierced through Rolling Thunder's chest. His enormous body and weight caused him to slowly slide down his opponents Shinsoku until he rested upon his shoulder. "I'll tell you why," his opponent then whispered into his ear._

_Rolling Thunder's eyes widened. "What!?" he gasped. He was then thrown to the ground and he lay bloodied, barely holding onto life. His opponent stood over his body laughing as he laid his Shinsoku to his neck._

_"And so ends Rolling Thunder's journey…" he smiled._

_Rolling Thunder couldn't do anything. He knew that there's no way anyone could save him now. 'Sabella, Rico…' He thought to himself. '…I'm sorry.' A single tear rolled down his pale face as his opponent dealt the killing blow. His body was left where it was; East Ronfaure._

"I'm home!" a bouncy voice called, echoing throughout the house.

"Hi Sabella." Replied a voice from the kitchen. An Elvaan man came around the living room donning an apron over his clothes. His hair, which was normally draped over his eyes, was help up by a headband revealing his green and hazel eyes. This Elvaan man is called Javain. His kindness is rivaled with his skill with the lance. He trained in the ways of the Dragoon since he was a teenager and has traveled the world in order to further improve his skills. But this year he has decided to settle down for a bit with his wife and his friends.

"Ooh, Javain! I didn't know you could cook!" Sabella gasped.

"I can't." said Javain. "I'm just cleaning."

Sabella laughed. "Oh, my bad." She smiled at Javain as she walked past him. It was her way of annoying him. She could hear Javain sigh as she went into her room. She knew she succeeded. "So where's Rico?" She called out.

"She's in her room getting changed." Javain replied as he scrubbed the stovetops with vigor. "Today's that day."

"Oh…" Sabella said softly. Silence filled the house for what seemed like forever. So, that's when I decided to step in, in attempt to lighten the mood.

"You should try to look your best." I said. "You're Father would greatly appreciate it."

"You're probably right… Thanks, Guillermo." Sabella said.

Before I go on, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Guillermo Umanos. I am a Samurai. Believe it or not, I've traveled across Vana'Diel for fifteen years with another fellow Samurai. We've gone our separate ways on that last, continuing our training alone. But one year ago, he was killed by a person whom was very close to him. When I attended his funeral, I was told that his will stated that I was to watch over his family. Since then I've been living here, taking care of his daughters. I can't imagine how it is for these girls to lose such a great man in their lives.

Sabella is a very good girl, but behind her bouncy persona lays a very troubled heart. It's obvious she misses her father, but she is trying her hardest to move on.

"I'll go check on Rico." I said, lifting myself off of the couch. Javain nodded in response as did Sabella when I passed by her door.

I knocked on Rico's bedroom door, asking if I could come in. No response. I turned the knob, slowly opening the door and poked my head through. "Are you alright, Rico?" I asked. She was holding in her hands a picture frame and a tattered hachimaki."I'm fine." She said softly, staring at the picture in her hands. I stood silent. It was obvious she wasn't. I entered her room and sat beside her on her bed. Peering over her shoulder I saw what she was looking at. It was a picture of her and Sabella with their father.

"You all look so happy together." I said.

She cracked a smile. "Yeah…" She said. "We were, but since he was killed, I…" her bottom lip began to quiver and I saw a tear roll down the side of her cheek. I did the only thing that seemed right at that moment. I let her lay on my shoulder in attempt to comfort her. "Why?" she cried. "Why did he have to die!?"

I couldn't answer that. There's no real explanation, so I sat silent. Javain then entered the room and saw Rico in a mess. I looked at Javain and he looked at me. He then came and sat himself beside her, opposite of me, and held Rico. I stood and took my leave, looking back at Javain. _'Take good care of her.'_ I mouthed. He nodded in response and I left, closing the door behind me.

There were already other people at his grave when we arrived. Most were just leaving, so only a few others remained.

"Thanks, you guys." Rico said. "This means a lot to us."

"It's the least we can do." Answered one Elvaan woman. "He was like a father to all of us."

This Elvaan woman is Jaquline Ameuraphe. She was his ballista rival and close friend. She wore an eye-patch over her left eye, although it's barely noticeable for her hair was draped over it. The origin of the scar beneath the patch is one that nearly broke her spirit. It was from the same man who killed Rico and Sabella's father; it was her first and only love. Around her wrist was a faded blue bangle. This bangle was a gift from Rico and Sabella's father when she bested him in battle. Ever since then she never left anywhere without it.

"I didn't know you had a heart, Jackie." replied a blonde Hume, accompanied by a silver-haired Mithra. Despite his attempt to lighten the mood, all he received were glares from everyone. "Damn, I'm sorry…"

This man goes by the moniker of "Inferno". Why? I don't know. He was always trying to make light of a serious situation and such, but it only makes people dislike him. He is always seen by the silver-haired Mithra's side, and he's commonly mistaken as her lover. Apparently he is more of a bodyguard than lover. If I remember correctly, he told me that he made a vow to her older sister that he would always watch over her. Looking past his goofy personality, he seems like a very honorable man.

The silver-haired Mithra that stood by him is Vilala. She is a very naïve woman who almost always has a smile on her face, regardless of the situation. As I said earlier, many mistake Inferno as her lover. Normally she would ignore such a statement, but sometimes she plays along with it, often putting Inferno in awkward situations. Those two are really something…

I saw that she held a bouquet of flowers in her hand and watched as she placed them before his headstone

"Every year, Rolling Thunder would tell us about his love for Casablanca's and Marguerites." said Vilala, her smile unchanging. "Before he told us this, Inferno and I were rather afraid of him."

"But this surprised us." Inferno added. "A man that intimidating having love for such things really closed the gap in our friendship."

_'His love for Casablanca's and Marguerites...'_ I thought to myself. I looked over to Rico and Sabella and tried to see what he meant. Maybe it was a metaphor for these two girls…?

After some time, people began to leave, and soon all that remained were his daughters, Javain and I.

It was hard for me to watch those two cry. I overheard what they were saying as the stood over his grave.

"Daddy…" Sabella said. "The house just isn't the same without you." It was then when Rico burst into tears.

"Why!?" She cried. "Why did you have to leave us?" She fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands.

"Rico…" Javain said softly. I looked over to him to see his face showing sorrow. I could see as a tear rested on the bottom of his eyes that he too missed him greatly.

"You said that you'd never leave us… " Rico said, sobbing. " We still had so much left to do, dad!"

Javain went to comfort Rico, leading her off somewhere else with Sabella in tow. I then made my way to pay my respects. Kneeling in front of his headstone, I ran my fingers across the words chiseled in the granite.

_Rolling Thunder_

_illegible-705_

_Take to the Skies_

"Take to the skies…" I said to myself, resting my fingers upon that phrase.

"He used to say that to me all the time." A voice said from behind me. Quickly I turned around, holding the scabbard of my Honebami tightly.

"Who are you?" I demanded, scrunching my brow.

He brushed his coarse hair behind his narrow elvaan ear, "Just an acquaintance of his." He said in a monotonous tone.

I loosened my grip on my Honebami. "I see." said I. "So you've come to pay your respects as well?"

He nodded. "You could say that." He started towards the headstone, his face showing no emotion. He stared at the headstone, not saying a word, and closed his eyes.

_'An odd character, this person is.'_ I thought to myself. It was then that I heard footsteps quickly advancing upon us.

"Guillermo, get down!" cried a familiar voice. I looked around, searching for the person who called me. It was Jaquline. She came running with her bow drawn and arrow ready to fire. I heeded her warning and rolled out of the way. Jaquline aimed her bow towards the man who stood over Rolling Thunder's grave and fired. I looked over to him and saw he still stood silent with his eyes closed in prayer. I could hear the arrow whistling through the air, quickly flying in closer and closer. I was sure that he would be killed, but in the blink of an eye, he knocked the arrow away. I looked at him again and saw that his eyes were open, yet still showed no emotion.

"What!?" Jaquline gasped. "He blocked my arrow?"

Slowly he turned to face Jaquline, who stepped back as she readied another arrow.

_'Who is this man?'_ I thought. _'There's no way a normal person could've done something like that.'_

"Guillermo! Jaquline!" cried another familiar voice. This time it was Javain. He drew his lance and launched himself into the air. "Get away from them, traitor!" He yelled.

Quickly the man jumped away as Javain plummeted to the ground. It was then that I began to realize who this man was. "Javain!" I called as he jerked his lance from the earth. "Is he the one who killed Rolling Thunder?"

Javain simply nodded in response and readied his lance. "How dare you show your despicable face here!" he growled.

I drew my Honebami from its scabbard and readied myself for battle. It was three on one, yet he didn't flinch nor did he draw his sword. He bowed his head, his coarse hair falling in front of his eyes and said, "I'm sorry." then disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"Damnit…" Jaquline said beneath her breath. She and Javain put away their weapons, as did I.

"This isn't good," Javain said. "If he's back, then…"

"We have to inform the others of this before we do anything else." Jaquline interrupted. I looked over to her and saw that she held much anger and sorrow back inside her.

_'No doubt about it,'_ I thought. _'He's the one, but… something just doesn't seem right.'_


	2. Chapter 1, Part 2: Otraula

My name is Otraula Viamette. I'm just your average adventurer, doing normal adventurer stuff… kind of. You see, this is my first time leaving my homeland and, well… I'm kind of lost. While wandering the La Thiene Plateau, I ran into a Cermet pillar. Looking around, I noticed that I've somehow ended up at a Crag. It was the first time I've seen one in real life, I was so excited! I asked other adventurers around the area and they told me that this was called "The Crag of Holla", and I must say I was a bit intimidated by its size. But that didn't stop me from being excited!

I stared at the crystal that levitated on top of one of the three cermet platforms, watching people appear and disappear as White Mages chanted numerous spells. I was so entranced by the constant appearing-disappearing act the White Mages and their companions were performing that I did even notice the Orcish Neckchopper that was coming to make mincemeat of me.

"Look out!" cried one adventurer before disappearing by the White Mage's spell. His voice knocked me out of my daze and quickly I noticed that the Orc was within arms length of me. His arms were raised high above his head, his chunky hands gripping onto a crude-looking sword, ready to strike me down. I struggled to pull my own sword out to block his attack, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking and I just couldn't get hold on the hilt. So I did the one thing that I'm good at: screaming for help. I screamed as loud as I could, thinking that it would drive the hideous Orc away. Of course, it didn't work. Never does. Tears fell down my face as the Orc's blade was coming down on me. I shut my eyes in fear.

_'Am I really going to die?'_

It felt like an eternity waiting for the Orc to strike me down. But then I heard it cry in pain and I felt a thick substance spray across my face. I opened my eyes to see the Orc cut in two.

_'What just happened?'_ I thought. In the corner of my eye I saw an Elvaan man standing at the feet of the Orc's carcass. "Did you…?"

The man nodded and sheathed his great katana. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Ah…Y-yes." I replied nervously. He brushed his coarse-looking hair out of his eyes. It looked as if he was glaring at me, like I did something wrong. Man, did he make me feel nervous. He cracked a smile and said, "Good." and began to walk away.

"Wait!" I said. He turned around with a questionable look on his face. "My… My name is Otraula. Otraula Viamette."

He stared at me for a moment before he said, "Well Otraula, take care of yourself." And again began to take his leave.

"What's yours?" I asked in attempt to stop him. "Your name, I mean."

"My name…" He repeated. "My name is Mikel. Mikel Cartiggan."

We stood silent, waiting for the other to speak; such an awkward moment. I decided to take the initiative and asked him, "Where are you going?"

"No where in particular." He replied. "I'm just a wandering adventurer."

"Then… Can I go with you?" I asked nervously, twiddling my thumbs.

"Why?"

_'Oh man…'_ I sighed. "Well um… You see, I… It's my first time out here and a newbie to this adventuring thing and-" He began laughing while I was trying to explain. "Hey! What's so funny?" I stuttered. "Was it something I said?" Well, obviously it was. Stupid of me to even ask…

"It's nothing." He chuckled. "Otraula, was it?"

"Tell me!" I exclaimed.

"So, you want to come with me, hm?" He said, ignoring my previous cry.

"Er… yes, please." said I.

"I've no problem then." He said, a smile growing across his face. "But first, let's get you cleaned up."

"Huh?" I touched my face and felt blood spattered across my cheek. I looked down on my Scale armor and saw that it was drenched in blood. It took me a while to register whose blood it was.(Orc blood is sticky and smells funny by the way.) I screamed in disgust, stomping on the ground. "Eww!"

I decided to take heed of Mikel's word and left him at the camp to wash up. I stripped myself of my armor and headed to a nearby lake. Surprisingly, the water was quite clean. I crouched down by the lakeside and washed my hands and face, rubbing the nasty Orc blood off. Afterwards I dipped my rag into the water and began to scrub the Orc blood off my armor. By the time I got to my greaves it was too dark to see the blood between the chinks in the armor.

" 'You almost done, Otraula?" called a voice. I turned to see Mikel looking down at me with his unsettling stare of his. What made it more unsettling was the fact that I was in my underwear. The look on his face, though, didn't seem to show that he cared that I was uncomfortable. Jerk.

"Well, almost," I stuttered. "It's just that it's too dark and I can't see what I'm doing really."

I felt his cold hand rest upon my shoulder. He then kneeled down beside me and took the rag and greaves from me and started to scrub them.

"Oh no," I said." I'll do it, you don't have to!"

"It's alright." He said. For some reason, I began to blush. "I made you some dinner back at the campfire. Go eat, I know you're hungry."

"Are you sure?" I said. I didn't want to just leave him here, cleaning my armor.

"I'm fine." He said. "I'll be there in a little bit, okay?"

"I guess." I said softly. I left him to continue cleaning, but I couldn't help but feel bad for doing so.

When I got to the camp, I reached into my knapsack for a change of clothes. Oh how wonderful it feels to have something covering your body. I looked out by the fire to see that he really did prepare dinner for me. He had laid out food that I've seen scattered throughout the markets back home; Meat Mithkabobs, Grilled Hare and some Rolanberry Juice. My mouth began to water uncontrollably as a breeze blew the aroma across my face. I sat myself by the fire and began to attack the food with no mercy. My goddess, it was delicious.

"I'm guessing you like my cooking." said Mikel, carrying with him my Scale armor. Unable to say anything, I nodded instead. He chuckled a bit before he laid his armor by the fire to dry off and sat beside me.

"Di' oo 'ee ye'?" I said with my mouth full.

"What?"

I swallowed what I had in my mouth, almost choking in the process, and asked him again. "Did you eat yet?"

He smiled. "Yes I did." He then stared down at the fire and asked, "So where are you from, Otraula?"

Luckily, I was done with my food, so I didn't have to worry about chunks of food flying all over the place when I talked. "I'm from San D'Oria. How about you?"

"I'm San D'Orian as well," He replied. "But, it's very unlikely that I'll be welcomed there with open arms when and if I ever return."

"Why?" I asked.

He hesitated before he answered me. "There are some things that I don't want to be reminded of."

"Oh…" I said. "Mind if I ask what?"

He sat silent.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to." He looked at me, but his eyes were different than before. They looked sad, yet furious.

"I destroyed the lives of my friends." He said softly. "And… I hurt the woman I loved…" He held his head with his hand and was again silent.

"I'm sorry…" I apologized. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's not your fault." He said, lifting his head up. I saw a tear roll down his cheek, but his face showed no sign of grief. "So, how old are you?" He asked me, trying to change the subject.

"Oh! Um, I'm seventeen." I replied.

"How young…" He said. "Then again, I began my life as an adventurer at your age as well."

"Oh?" I said. "How old are you then, Mikel?"

He laughed under his breath and replied, "I'm thirty-six."

"Are you serious?" I said, shocked.

Why, how old did you think I was?" He laughed.

"Well, I thought you were twenty-five or so."

He laughed again and said, "I guess that's a compliment, eh?"

I managed to crack a smile and nodded in response.

It was well into the night. Mikel and I were laid out by the fire gazing into the starry night sky. It felt like a scene out of a children's novel, or something along those lines. Either way, it was nice. I turned to Mikel, propping my head up with my hand.

"Mikel…" I said softly. "How is it like? Y'know, being a wandering adventurer and all."

"It's not that bad," he replied, still staring up at the night sky. "It has its ups and downs, but so does every action in life, right?"

"Hehe, yeah." I giggled. "I don't think I could last much longer as an adventurer, though."

"How so?"

"You saw what happened earlier today." I said. "I can barely defend myself, let alone wield a sword properly."

"Don't be like that," He said to me. "We adventurers all start out like that. We can't really work alone at first, so we're encouraged to help one another out. Before you know it, you've got yourself a great group of people to explore the world with."

"But what about you?" I asked him. "You travel alone, right? Isn't it hard?"

He turned to face me. "I used to have a great group of friends that I adventured with. We were like a big family, you know?"

"What happened?" I pressed.

"I did something… terrible to them." His face then turned grim.

_'That's right…'_ I thought. _'He told me earlier today. I guess it must've been scarring for him…'_

"The stars…" he said softly. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yeah," I replied, looking back towards the sky. "They are, aren't they…?"

We lay silent for what seemed like hours, gazing at the sky. It was then that I said something that I say to everyone that I become fond of. "Mikel…" I said softly. He looked back at me with a questionable look on his face. "Please, don't leave me." I turned to face him and stared at his eyes.

"I won't," He smiled. "I'll protect you from whatever happens, alright?"

I smiled back in response. Without a word I turned to my side and laid my head onto the grassy floor and closed my eyes.

I awoke with the sun bearing down on my face and the morning breeze brushing the end of my nose. The sky was clear, and I was reminded of what my mother used to say to me a lot when I was a child: _with days like these, good things are bound to happen._ If what my mother says is true, then I wonder what fortune will befall me today.

"Good morning, Otraula." greeted Mikel. He appeared to be a bit exhausted.

"Morning, Mikel!" I happily returned. "Any particular reason why you're out of breath?"

"I… went for a morning jog." He replied.

It was painfully obvious that he was lying to me, but I'm sure it was something trivial. "Really now? Sounds fun!" I said, donning a fake smile on my face.

"Er, yeah." He shakily replied. "Anyway, go gather your things, we're heading out."

"To where?" I asked.

He smiled at me, brushing away his coarse hair. "If I told you, it'd destroy the purpose of being a wandering adventurer."

"Good point." I said. I gathered my things and we set off south towards the Valkurm Dunes. Maybe that 'good thing' is out there?

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Well, that's the first chapter, i'll see how people respond to this first before i post the second chapter...in which i'm still kind of writing. So please, i encourage you to read and review, it'd be greatly appreciated!


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